Guest Jecklin Posted March 26, 2015 Posted March 26, 2015 (edited) A piece of music I'm working on requires a means to repeat a certain section. Essentially I play for just over three minutes and then have the pedal repeat this while I play over the top of it. The complexities: I play an unamplified acoustic instrument, so I don't want the pedal transmitting sound when it is playing back the phrase. I can get round this I suppose by turning my amp down during the first section, then the mic'pre down in the second section ie no sound out of the pedal, then no sound in. Can any users advise on a simple loop or delay that can handle phrases of up to 4 minutes. Cheers Thomas -apologies this is rather similar to an old thread of mine, but this piece of music is going out live very soon so I thought I'd ask again in an appropriately cyclic manner Edited March 26, 2015 by Jecklin Quote
Guest Jecklin Posted March 26, 2015 Posted March 26, 2015 Looking at Thomann the TC ditto and the , ahem, rather similar Mooer micro looper catch my eye. Any users of those? The lower sampling rate of the Moore isn't such a worry for my needs, but hiss and whine are so grateful for any comments. Quote
Chiliwailer Posted March 26, 2015 Posted March 26, 2015 Can't go wrong with TC, they make great gear. The larger looper has more in depth features, worth checking out their website. I've played in them before, thumbs up from me regarding quality. Quote
ambient Posted March 26, 2015 Posted March 26, 2015 The TC Ditto is great, and a bargain. Maybe use it with a volume pedal to save having to turn the amp down ? Is it your contrabassoon that you're playing through this ? Quote
Guest Jecklin Posted March 27, 2015 Posted March 27, 2015 It is indeed for use with my contra'. I think the ditto will be ordered presently, although I do wish it would run from a battery. Quote
CamdenRob Posted March 27, 2015 Posted March 27, 2015 [quote name='Jecklin' timestamp='1427465437' post='2730739'] It is indeed for use with my contra'. I think the ditto will be ordered presently, although I do wish it would run from a battery. [/quote] I recently got a boss RC-1 to replace my ditto for exactly this reason... does the same thing only runs on batteries. Quote
Guest Jecklin Posted March 27, 2015 Posted March 27, 2015 Hmmm interesting Rob, thanks for the heads up on the rc-1. Quote
Sibob Posted March 27, 2015 Posted March 27, 2015 Not sure I'd want to run a looper on a battery in a gig situation. I suspect they rinse battery power, and having a digital looping pedal slowly lose juice through a performance would suck lol Si Quote
ambient Posted March 27, 2015 Posted March 27, 2015 [quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1427470047' post='2730825'] Not sure I'd want to run a looper on a battery in a gig situation. I suspect they rinse battery power, and having a digital looping pedal slowly lose juice through a performance would suck lol Si [/quote] I saw that happen to Janek Gwizdala, it was a new Duracell too. Quote
CamdenRob Posted March 27, 2015 Posted March 27, 2015 [quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1427470047' post='2730825'] Not sure I'd want to run a looper on a battery in a gig situation. I suspect they rinse battery power, and having a digital looping pedal slowly lose juice through a performance would suck lol Si [/quote] Yes thats true... I only use mine at home and neither the missus nor the cat mind waiting for me to change a battery mid tune. Quote
Guest Jecklin Posted April 1, 2015 Posted April 1, 2015 [quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1427466162' post='2730758'] I recently got a boss RC-1 to replace my ditto... [/quote] Something critical for my needs, which of these two pedals has the quietest mechanical pedal action Rob? I don't mean a click through the speaker, but the clunk from the chassis as you press the pedal. I need something pretty quiet, from my previous experience of boss pedals that big panel makes quite a click Quote
CamdenRob Posted April 1, 2015 Posted April 1, 2015 [quote name='Jecklin' timestamp='1427895644' post='2735566'] Something critical for my needs, which of these two pedals has the quietest mechanical pedal action Rob? I don't mean a click through the speaker, but the clunk from the chassis as you press the pedal. I need something pretty quiet, from my previous experience of boss pedals that big panel makes quite a click [/quote] The ditto is much louder as a click as it's got the raised type of footswitch, the normal boss chassis is quiet as usual. Having said that I found the double click and hold (required on both units to stop and delete) easier on the ditto as i could feel the clicks. Overall I prefered the ditto slightly but got rid of it due to not being able to run it off batteries... also, a bit of a moot point but I did have to have my ditto replaced after a couple of months as it sort of crashed and kept playing the same recorded phrase over and over... the second one I had was fine though. Quote
Guest Jecklin Posted April 2, 2015 Posted April 2, 2015 [quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1427896492' post='2735579'] The ditto is much louder as a click as it's got the raised type of footswitch, the normal boss chassis is quiet as usual. Having said that I found the double click and hold (required on both units to stop and delete) easier on the ditto as i could feel the clicks. [/quote] Thanks again Rob, that's very helpful. Cheers Thomas Quote
linear Posted April 2, 2015 Posted April 2, 2015 In the range of minimalist loopers, another one to consider is the DigiTech JamMan Express XT. It is somewhat larger than the Ditto, but will take a battery. It also has a couple of other features: stereo, and the ability to sync up with other DigiTech loopers. The DigiTech has relay based switching, with a very slight audible click. £61 on Amazon at the moment. I switched from the Ditto to the DigiTech, because when you clear a stopped loop on the Ditto there's a slight delay before it clears in which it plays a little bit of the start of the loop. Other than that, I preferred the Ditto, as it was smaller, neater, and just exuded quality. The Ditto [i]may[/i] have had a slight edge in sound quality, but I didn't compare them side by side for long; they have the same digital sampling rate/depth, and it's possible I was swayed by the Ditto being a more aesthetically pleasing unit. Also, the Ditto flashes it's LED at the start of the loop, and the DigiTech doesn't for some reason, and I miss that. But, the lack of 'silent clear' was a deal-breaker for me, as they say. Quote
Guest Jecklin Posted April 2, 2015 Posted April 2, 2015 Hi Linear, [quote name='linear' timestamp='1427977614' post='2736588'] In the range of minimalist loopers, another one to consider is the DigiTech JamMan Express XT... I switched from the Ditto to the DigiTech, because when you clear a stopped loop on the Ditto there's a slight delay before it clears in which it plays a little bit of the start of the loop. [/quote] Very interesting, thank you. Silent clear could be critical for my needs. I'm still tweaking the composition and developing how to perform it live. I don't want to be limited by the pedal, nor presenting something too predictable. we shall see. Cheers Quote
linear Posted April 2, 2015 Posted April 2, 2015 It is possible to unobtrusively clear on the Ditto if you double-tap and hold while the loop is playing; it's only when you've stopped a loop and then want to clear that there's a potential issue. I must admit, for live use I'd be tempted to go for one of the units with a second dedicated stop/clear footswitch. Quote
Guest Jecklin Posted April 10, 2015 Posted April 10, 2015 Thanks everyone for your input. I bought A boss RC1 the other day and it's perfect. Some very useful features include: the use of an external pedal for extra functions. setting the loop to end after one playthrough (EXACTLY what I need) Changing the order of playback functions. All in all it's a very tidy unit and the very quiet mechanical pedal is a bonus for anyone in an acoustic environemnt. The new piece i've written will definitley be in my live set for the next few gigs, albeit in a slightly shorter version. Quote
GrammeFriday Posted April 12, 2015 Posted April 12, 2015 [quote name='linear' timestamp='1427977614' post='2736588'] I switched from the Ditto to the DigiTech, because when you clear a stopped loop on the Ditto there's a slight delay before it clears in which it plays a little bit of the start of the loop. [/quote] Are you talking about the Ditto or the Ditto X2 here? I have a X2 and have never noticed this problem. Quote
linear Posted April 12, 2015 Posted April 12, 2015 [quote name='GrammeFriday' timestamp='1428872975' post='2745608'] Are you talking about the Ditto or the Ditto X2 here? I have a X2 and have never noticed this problem. [/quote] The Ditto, the one with just one footswitch. Quote
GrammeFriday Posted April 13, 2015 Posted April 13, 2015 Ah, perhaps that explains it - makes me even more glad I decided to buy the X2! Having separate loop on and off switches is great, to be sure - essential for a slow-witted klutz like me. Quote
CamdenRob Posted April 13, 2015 Posted April 13, 2015 [quote name='Jecklin' timestamp='1428668412' post='2743585'] Thanks everyone for your input. I bought A boss RC1 the other day and it's perfect. Some very useful features include: the use of an external pedal for extra functions. setting the loop to end after one playthrough (EXACTLY what I need) Changing the order of playback functions. All in all it's a very tidy unit and the very quiet mechanical pedal is a bonus for anyone in an acoustic environemnt. The new piece i've written will definitley be in my live set for the next few gigs, albeit in a slightly shorter version. [/quote] Glad to hear your pleased with it the boss unit ticked all the boxes for me as well. Quote
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